


Seventh Dawn

by AgeofAdvent



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-09
Updated: 2016-07-08
Packaged: 2018-07-22 10:54:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7433997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgeofAdvent/pseuds/AgeofAdvent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The world was forever changed when Team Aqua succeeded in their plan to raise Kyogre from its deep slumber. Cities fell, a world became submerged. Now the survivors pick up the pieces of their waterlogged world and search for any piece of salvation they can find, set one week after the Flood.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Flood

Seventh Dawn  
\--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---  
Team Aqua. The rest of the world didn't even know their name until a week ago. We all heard of nutcases in Hoenn obsessed with the weather, but we never thought that one of their Teams had the idea to drown the whole world.

We never thought they would succeed, either.

Their leader, Archie, brought out the powers of the primordial god, Kyogre. It woke in its primal state, too focused in its fervor to bring new water into existence that it didn't notice the world around it be swallowed by the torrential rains that spawned from the skies above.

That was seven days ago. It was estimated by someone – heck if I remember the name – that a tenth of the world population remains. I was lucky. I was high up in a plane on a school trip to Striaton City when it happened. The clouds grew grotesquely large and discolored. Even from above the clouds, we could tell something was wrong. The sound of the rain pounding the earth below was like a thousand thunders every minute.

We call it The Flood. The Flood took everything from us. Entire buildings, people, a civilization – gone over a night. Some places never stood a chance, like the coasts. Others were a little luckier. A relief effort was immediately put into place, where dams were constructed In the center of every region. They stood for a few days, until those "Safe Zones" buckled or overflowed with the advent of the Flood.

I said luckier. I never said they were lucky. I wouldn't even call the survivors lucky, either. What are we supposed to do? Pray that it stops raining before the whole world succumbs to water? Well, something must have worked, because on the seventh day, it stopped.

My name is San Niblis.  
\--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Look, I never asked for the job. I was forced into it. My family was being threatened, you know? Even the natives of Pacifiidlog Town were being harassed. What did a small group of refugees like my family stand a chance?

So I took the job. I became a Team Aqua Grunt four days after the Flood. I've always loved water type pokemon, so naturally I had a few. My wailmer is the only one they let me keep, though. He's not the strongest pokemon, but he's all I have left of the world before the Flood.

Some people hate me for putting on the uniform. They say I caved into the people who killed the world. Well, we're an adaptable species. I say if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. At least Mom and my sisters are safe that way. See, if you work for Team Aqua, your whole family gets food. If you don't, you don't get food. It's as simple as that. I for one don't like starving to death. The choice was obvious.

Where was I when the Flood hit? I was on a boat. On the way to Pacifidlog, actually. It was our family's annual vacation. We thought it was important to have some connection to Dad ever since he died. Him being a native Pacifidlogger, it only made sense for us to head there for some R&R while we remembered him.

Truth be told, we should have died. I don't know why any of the massive waves or the rain drops as thick as my fist didn't sink us. Our captain was a seasoned seaman, true, but what could prepare anyone for the end of the world? So yeah. I work for Aqua. For family. To being prepared.

My name is Ryan Sans.  
\--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

Damn them. You probably know who I'm talking about by now, even if you don't know my backstory. Well, I have a special reason to hate Team Aqua. We all do,

We're all that remains of Team Magma.

How did we survive the Flood? Simple. We knew it was coming. Ever since we lost to those water loving world–enders, we made preparations, should that madman Archie actually succeed. Don't give me that look, like we're scum for not warning the world.

Who would have believed us? After all, we were trying to do something similar. We were in the wrong, too, I know. But at least we would have had graves for us to be buried in instead of this endless ocean that the entire planet became.

We just wanted more ground for people, for our people to live on.

We made the trip to Stark Mountain, far away from Hoenn. We had a few members in our outreach program working at Sinnoh. We brought whoever would believe us and holed ourselves up near the peak. It was so hot, I thought we would die of the heat before the flood. Some of us did. But we made it, and made our home in the upper layers of Stark Mountain.

I thought we were safe. I thought we all were. But Maxie got sick. Then it was Tabitha. Then it was Blaise. Maxie made it, surprisingly, but the others didn't. Even now, Maxie is very weak. The man that half raised me sits on the threshold of death's embrace, and there's nothing I can do about it. I wish we fools never sought out to control a god. But we did. And now we have to pay the price.

My name is Georgia Smith.


	2. Picking up the Pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three protagonists deal with the aftermath of Kyogre's Flood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like the story, don't hesitate to say so! That way, I know to put more chapters up.

San Niblis

The overhead sky was clear – for once. It felt like an age lost to us, the survivors of Flight 119, that the sky show something other than an endless downpour of globules of water big enough to bruise the skin. There were only a few of us left: Sal, John, and the twins, Mira and Thomas. Our conductor already left for his family on his Dragonite.

Needless to say, we didn't get an invite. Apparently, one does not go down with his ship in the event of apocalypse. We found out that the pilot took the last of our Stash – the combined pile of anything and everything edible we could scrape together. Even the leather boots. Yes, apparently you can eat leather. Who knew. Anyway, Sal brought up the prospect of leaving the mountaintop for the risk of finding help.

Help certainly had not found us. John was strictly against it. Sal was the one who brought it up, so of course he was all for it. I was indecisive and the twins were on the fence as well. The main prospect was the lack of food. The second matter at hand was the smell.

You see, not everyone survived our little crash landing on the peak of Twist Mountain. Was it a bumpy landing? You could say so. The corpses were starting rot. Imagine the sort of smell a thousand packs of fruit get when left out in the sun too long. Sickly sweet. Sickeningly sweet, I might add. It was all we could do to not toss what little we had in our stomachs.

Back to the matter at hand. It's Sal's turn to speak; hopefully he'll have something hopeful to add to this collection of misfortunes.

Sal stands 6 foot three. Lanky as hell, slick black hair. He paced the exterior of the cavern we made our base of operations restlessly.

"Can't you see that no one is coming for us?" he said. "It's either we get out there and do something or wait around for someone to save us. And, last time I checked, there's a whole lotta people that need saving and not too many willing to get out there and save them."

"Hold on," John said. "You don't know that for sure." John was barely 5 foot five, a dwarf compared to Sal, but he made up for his height in muscle. Before the Flood, he was the star Quarterback on our school team.

"Of course I know that for sure!" Sal shrieked. "Where have you been, man? The entire sky just decided to dump oceans of water on us. We're on a mountain, John. A mountain. And I can still stick my toes out and dip them in the water if I try hard enough. You think our skyscrapers stood a chance?"

"Calm down," Mira said soothingly. She was the calm one of the group. Green hair and freckles, slightly pudgy. Not unattractive, though. "We're not getting anywhere by screaming at each other."

"She's right," Thomas said. Green hair and the presence of acne made Thomas recognizable from a crowd. One would think him tall if he weren't slouched over all the time. "We have to act rationally. Just going out on a whim's going to get us killed. Waiting for help that's never going to come will make us starve. San, what's your take on the matter?"

Ah. My turn. "I say we go." John raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. "I have a lapras we can ride on. Her name's Mist – he can ferry us around while we search for help."

"You know," Mira said thoughtfully, "lapras were often used before boats became popular. If you really do have one, this might just work."

"What are you saying?!" John leapt up to his feet. "Lapras aren't exactly the speedboats of the pokemon world. You'll starve before you get anywhere close to civilization again."

"It's going to have to do," Thomas said. "I vote we go."

"Same," said Mira.

"You already know my decision," Sal said. "When do we leave?"

We all turned to face John, whose features were stuck in a stubborn scowl. "No. No, no, no, no, no. You people can leave if you want, but I'm staying here. Help is coming. You'll see. Just wait it out – just a few more days. Please."

"A few more days and we'll be too weak from hunger to do anything," I said. "We have to act now."

"Fine. Fine. Have fun in your little adventure. I'm staying put, right here. I'll be thinking of you when I get rescued by the Rangers."

"Very well," I said. "We should leave today."  
\--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---  
Ryan Sans

I woke to the rays of sunshine on my face – the first sign that the sun still shone in seven days. Talia, Kate, and Jen were all curled up next to Mom. Talia, the oldest of my sisters held Jen's hand, who was the youngest of our family. Kate was already awake. All three of them had red hair – same as mine. We got it from our Dad, 'cause Mom has brown hair.

Our cabin was slightly larger than the average person's – about 15 square feet around. Not a whole lotta space, but it was sturdy enough so that the rain didn't bother us. Four square holes in the sides made our "windows," with strips of dried and flattened seaweed as their blinds.

"Why are you up?" I whispered to Kate. Her eyes widened, and immediately shut them closed. I smiled. "I know you're awake already. You're not in trouble. Just go back to sleep. I have some business I need to take care of outside."

"Do you have to wear your work clothes?" she asked me. My eyes shifted towards the jacket emblazoned with a large "A" on it.

"No," I said, hoping it was the truth. "I don't have to work with them today."

"Okay," she said softly, yawning. "Bring back something to eat. I'm hungry."

"Alright," I said. "I won't be long." Leaving the relative comfort of my cabin, I looked up to see the clear blue sky. Not a cloud in sight; it was like the weather was mocking us. Oh well – I'll take sunny weather over rain any day. The logs for which Pacifidlog City was named for rocked and swayed with the waves. Occasionally a wave would come by large enough to knock someone off their log, but today it was calm. People were out repairing and constructing huts for new refugees, overseen by members of Team Aqua. One caught eye contact with me and gave me a small nod. Already, I was known to be one of them.

The Aqua member in question was a man named Henry. Henry was of average build, with sandy colored hair. He wore a shirt emblazoned with the Aqua symbol on it as he shouted out orders.

"Faster!" he would occasionally yell. "We have more refugees coming in every day. We need those huts up NOW."

I made my way over to him. "Anything I can do to help?" I asked. "I can help with the construction."

"Nah," Henry said, waving my suggestion aside. "We need more people looking for survivors. You and that wailmer of yours get out there and look for any stragglers." He gave a me a yellow vest with a blue "A" on it.

"Yes sir." I popped the circle on the single poke ball I owned, allowing Wailmer to make a splash in the water next to me. "Looks like we're on Search and Rescue duty," I told my pokemon. "Come on, let's get out there and find some people."

Search and Rescue was an interesting job, for sure. If you found someone, you got paid, usually in food. Most the time, you didn't. And the times you do find someone, they're usually too exhausted and dehydrated to live much longer. I was hoping today would be different.

Wailmer and I Surfed across the ocean waters, careful not to get sucked in by the riptide that led far away from Pacifidlog City. On my first mission of Search and Rescue, I made the mistake of rushing out too far west and had to have an entire team of Aqua grunts pull me back into our city limits. I felt the distant touch of the sun on my back. It was a nostalgic feeling, and a welcome one. The warmth wasn't all that bad either.

The tides allowed for fast swimming, and we made use of that to cover as much distance as possible. On the distance, the horizon was clear except for a faint trail of grey vaporous substance masking a spot on the east horizon.

"Smoke," I told Wailmer excitedly. "It's got to be. Hurry!"

Wailmer's face, normally cheerful and carefree, furrowed in concentration. The water on either side of us grew more restless as my Wailmer sped up. As we grew closer, I could make out the fastenings of a raft with a makeshift sail composed of a variety of different shirts. Two people were on board, waving and yelling my way.

"Over here!" they shouted. "We're alive!"

Wailmer parked himself next to the raft. Two people, a boy and a girl my age breathed a sigh of relief.

"Where did you come from," the girl asked excitedly. "Is it somewhere safe?"

"Safer than anywhere else," I assured her. "Pacifidlog City."

"City?" She seemed confused. "Pacifidlog is just a town."

"Not anymore," I told her. "It's grown a lot in the last seven days. People from all over have been seeking refuge. We're one of the only places unaffected by the Flood."

"Thank Arceus," the boy said shakily. "The boat we were on got attacked by pirates. We managed to take off before they saw us… I think we're the last ones left."

"Pirates?!" I looked over at the trail of smoke in the distance nervously. "We'd best get back to Pacifidlog City then. I don't want to be messing with any pirates."

I ordered Wailmer to get behind the raft and push us all toward Pacifidlog. It was slow work, but we made a steady pace. Wailmer was used to pushing and carrying things around by now.

"So what are your names?" I asked them. "Mine's Ryan."

"Good to meet you, Ryan," the girl said cheerfully. "I'm Susan. This is my brother James."

"What's that on your shoulder?" James asked me suddenly. His sister hit him on the shoulder.

"James!" she said. "Not now."

"But can't you see he's with them?" James' face turned into a scowl. "Who's to say we're not better off with the pirates?"

"Well for one," Susan retorted hotly, "He's not trying to kill us."

"For now," James muttered darkly.

"Listen," I said. "I know it looks bad. I joined Aqua a few days ago to feed my family. We're really not all bad, you know. We're trying to do our best by the survivors."

"Yeah, but you caused this whole mess," James said. "Who's to say you can be trusted?"

"Stop the raft," I ordered Wailmer. "Listen," I told James, "My job is to get you to Pacifidlog, safe and sound. What you do there is your business. You may even be wearing this symbol on your shoulder soon enough. So quit judging me and get with the situation."

James glowered at me. I held contact for a good five seconds before he looked away. "Fine."

"Good," I said. "Wailmer, you can resume pushing us now." The raft lurched forward and we reflexively grasped the mast. Susan's hand wrapped around my arm as she fell with a yelp.

"Sorry," she said, face heating up.

"No problem," I said. "Look, there's Paciidlog City." I pointed toward the edge of the City, a mass of rafts and halfway constructed tents. People were swarming over it like an overturned Duranthill.

"It's so big," James said. "How did it grow so quickly?"

"When you're the only town in the world that survived," I said, "word spreads. We're the last of what remains of the world before the Flood."

I had Wailmer connect the raft to a docking platform, where another member of Team Aqua took the raft away, most likely to repurpose its wood. We made our unsteady landing on a large plank of wood, three Grunts helping us up.

"Looks like you found someone, kid." Henry made his way over. "That's good. We need strong, healthy people to build more docks."

"Who said we would help you?" James demanded.

"I don't know," Henry said, unperturbed. "Common sense? You don't work, you don't eat. Simple."

Henry gave me a nod of approval. "You did good at there. Report to Matt to receive your reward."

"Yes sir." I gulped as I made my way over to the central cabins, where the higher ranking members of Team Aqua resided. To be honest, Matt made me kind of uncomfortable. His constant ramblings about strength and power made a Grunt like me kind of nervous. As far as the Food Chain goes, I'm kind of low on the totem pole.

The entrance to the central square of cabins is guarded by several overseers, who checked over my name, verifying that I was in fact a member of Team Aqua before letting me in. The central cabins were huge, and covered in a tarp with the Team Aqua symbol on it. Matt's was on the right of Archie's, which was the middle tent. Shelly's was on the far left. I swallowed another knot. Shelly made me nervous, too.

As I was about to make my presence known, the door to the tent flew open and Matt's enormous figure loomed over me. He grinned. "HEY!" he shouted. "Good work out there. Two new recruits for Team Aqua. Took a strong man to go out that far. Team Aqua needs strong people."

"Th-Thanks."

"Aw, don't be nervous," Matt said. "Come inside! I have something for you."

True to his word, Matt had fifteen food rations sprawled on a table – enough for my entire family. "Here you go," he said. "Do more good work for Team Aqua and you'll see more of this."

I thanked Matt profusely, stuffing the rations in a waterproof bag. I grinned widely. The sun may already be high in the sky, and my family was sure to be awake by now. But I had food.  
\--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---  
Georgia Smith

Stark Mountain's caverns had filled with steam, the result of dormant magma coming into contact with an entire ocean of water. Some days it was hard to see through the smog that became of it. Luckily, one good thing did come of it: clean water. See, I had the idea of making a contraption that would capture the water vapor and lead it down a cloth, where it settled and cooled as liquid water. All we had to do was wring the rag clean of it.

I placed a wet towel on our leader Maxie's head. He groaned and said something delirious. I looked up at Vernon, my subordinate.

"He's weak," Vernon said.

"No shit he's weak," I said irritably. "Get me some more water. From the cleanest rag on the rack." I turned my attentions to Maxie. "It's gonna be alright. We're not going to let you leave us." My eyes inadvertently made their way to two marked graves at the end of the clearing and shook my head. No. Maxie wouldn't be like them. He was going to live, dammit and I would make sure of that.

Vernon returned quickly with a drenching wet towel. "Here," he said hurriedly. "Is that enough?"

"It'll have to do," I said. "Thanks." I squeezed the precious drops of liquid water into Maxie's open mouth, praying he wouldn't cough it back up. Luckily, he held it in this time.

"Thank you… Courtney," Maxie muttered. "I don't know what I could do without you."

My stomach lurched. "Courtney's not here right now," I said. "It's me, Georgia."

"Georgia?" Maxie's brow furrowed. "But what about—"

"It's fine," I soothed him. "Don't think about it. Just rest."

His head hit the pillow and was soon asleep. He would shake fitfully, like he always did, but at least he would take something from it.

"What about the others?" Vernon said. "Sharon's caught it too."

"Damn," I said under my breath. "We're dropping like flies up here."

"We'll make it," Vernon said. He put his hand on my shoulder. "We'll find a way. We always do, remember?"

I did remember. Vernon and I go way back, before Team Magma. We were orphaned together. It was a flash flood that did it, that killed our parents. Some say the dam broke from cutting corners. Another said it was done by a pokemon. Doesn't really matter. Not in the end. Maxie found us both and gave us a purpose – something to look forward to – again.

I'll never forget what he's done for us. And now he's lying at my feet, rasping for air. I prayed to Arceus that he'd make it. It should be him, not me, leading the remains of Team Magma.

"So what now?" I asked myself. I slumped against the wall of the cavern. "We need to find some way of helping him. Something we aren't doing now."

"What about making an antidote?" Vernon slumped against the wall beside me. "The only pokemon native to Stark Mountain that can cause something like this is weezing. Maybe there's one that's spewing gas that's traveling through the steam."

"That…" I said, "That's a good idea, actually. It might actually work, if one of us knows how to make antidotes."

"I do," Vernon said. "Tabitha taught me."

"He did?" I was impressed. "Right. One of us needs to look over the sickly while the other captures this weezing."

"You should go," he said. "You're stronger than I am. I can look over Maxie and the others. Just bring back that weezing."

"Got it." I rummaged through my bag for the pokeball with my Crobat in it – Crow is his name—and made my way toward the end of the caverns, where water pools up, making it so that you have to swim to get to the other side. I put one foot in, finding the water unpleasantly hot, but not unbearable. I dived inside, ready to find the source of what was poisoning our people.  
\--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---  
San Niblis

"Are you sure about this?" John stood rigidly, arms folded over. "It's not too late to change your minds."

The rest of us stood at the edge of the water. Mist, my Lapras, was already floating in the ocean. Knapsacks and other items we tried to make waterproof were slung over our backs.

"Look man," Sal said, "We tried to reason with you. Now come with us already or be alone. See if I care."

"You're all insane," John said. "You're just going to end up food for a sharpedo, just wait."

"We're not insane," I said. "We're just doing what we have to do. No one is coming for us, John. It's either we leave or end up like the rest of the crew."

"Help WILL come though," John said. "My father is the mayor of Black City! He'll come for me. I know he will."

"Black city is the underwater city now," I said impatiently. "Whatever power your father held – if he's even alive, that is – is gone. We have to make our own futures now."

"It can't be gone," John whispered. "A dam. There must have been one. They could have built it; I know they can. They're probably sending someone right now."

"He's lost it," Sal said derisively. "Come on guys, let's go."

We had decided that Sal, who came up with the idea to leave, should be our leader. No one else was brave or foolish enough to make the call to leave, and he seemed pretty okay with being in charge. We gave John one last wave goodbye before hopping on Mist. I wondered if we would ever see him again.

It's not like I was ever John's best friend. Before the Flood, he used to pelt spitballs at me with the rest of the jocks. But he was part of all that's left of the world before the Flood. You can't just let that go easily.

Mist crooned into my hand as I slid it up her neck reassuringly. "It's gonna be okay, girl. We'll make it."

"Hurry up," Sal called out from atop Mist. "We don't have all day."

"Technically," I said, "we have all the time in the world, or what's left of it."

Sal rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just get up here and drive this thing."

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. "Her name is Mist. She's not used to carrying this many people, so treat her with respect."

"Alright, alright. Just get up here already."

I climbed up the spikes adorning my lapras's back, sitting just behind her neck. "Alright then fearless leader," I addressed Sal, "Where to?"

Sal shrugged. "Anywhere that's far away from here. My map says that Mistralton is a little ways west from here. Maybe we could see if that city was high enough to escape the Flood? It is on a mountain, after all."

"Sounds like a plan," I said. I looked over the map, and pointed Lapras in the right direction with a little help from the sole compass we possessed. I relaxed into a large spike on Mist's back. How long will it take to get there?

Hours later, the seas were surprisingly pleasant. No sign of carvanha or sharpedo yet. Not even one of the millions of tentacool lying throughout the ocean waters. Smooth sailing. I, for one, was enjoying the trip so far. The others, however, thought otherwise.

It's not like I'm complaining that they tried to find something to do, but "Guess what I'm looking at" only has so many answers before it gets redundant. "It's blue and…." – Ocean. "It's big and..." –Ocean. "It has…" -Let me stop you right there and let me guess… ocean.

Yeah, fun times. Now they were stuck on 20 questions, which wasn't so painfully limited, but it brought back unpleasant memories of the world before the Flood. Who know a loaf of bread could bring back so many memories of home? It was until we heard a noise from the distance that they kept playing. I could tell it was getting on Mist's nerves, too.

"What was that?" I asked them.

"What was what?" they asked in return.

"That noise. It sounded like a motor of some sort." I told them to be quiet so I could listen for it again.

"I hear it now," Thomas said.

"Yeah, me too," said Mira.

"Maybe help really IS on the way," Sal muttered. "Who'd have thought?"

I wasn't so sure. As the motor sound grew louder, I could make out three jet skis in the distance, headed our way.

"Help! Help us!" Mira shouted.

"Quiet," I snapped. Something about them seemed… off to me. Mist's neck stiffened, a clear sign of danger.

But it was too late. The jet skis altered their course to head straight toward us. I made out three odd looking "A"s painted on the front of their vehicles.

The three of them circled us like vultures. One of them, their leader, wore a cap with that same "A" on it.

"Lookie here, guys," the man said. "Rick's gonna be pleased with us. We found a poor Lapras, lost at sea. And no one to help it. Tsk tsk."

"What do you want," Mira called out. "We don't want any trouble."

"I'm sure you don't, sweetheart," the man said. "We just want this here Lapras. All water type pokemon belong to Team Aqua."

Of course. Team Aqua had found us.

"Too bad," I said. "She's mine."

"Well," the man said, "Nothing's anybody's unless they can keep it." He snapped his finger. "Get 'em, boys!"

Two goldeen were immediately sent out of their pokeballs, straight at us.

"Mist!" I called out, "Thunderbolt!" From my lapras's mouth, a beam of electricity shot out toward the two fish pokemon. One was hit directly, the other dodging it by going deeper into the water.

"I'll take care of this," Sal said. "Vice! Come on out! It's dinner time," he added darkly as an enormous Tentacruel escaped its capsule.

The tentacruel, Vice submerged itself. Soon after, traces of blood could be seen rising to the surface, Vice, true to his name, holding the goldeen in a vicegrip of many tentacles. With a snap of its beak, the goldeen stopped squirming.

"Useless," their leader said. "We'll remember this. Back to Mistralton, boys!"

The others took off without so much as a glance at their fallen pokemon. I almost felt sorry for them. Then again, they were trying to kill us and steal Mist from me.

"Vice," Sal said, "Pick up that other goldeen and hand it to me." The tentacruel did as requested, handing his trainer the remains of the fish. "Looks like we won't starve," Sal said.

"That's gross," Thomas said. "That was someone's pokemon!"

"And now it's our dinner," Sal said indifferently. "If it didn't want to end up this way, it shouldn't have attacked us. We'd be floating in the water, belly up if it were up to the goldeen's trainer."

"He's right," I said. "The world isn't the same as it was before. I don't think any of us are going to live off of berries anymore. If you're squeamish about it, better get over it."

"Still…" Mira looked at the goldeen with pity. "It didn't even stand a chance."

"Let's hope we stand more of a chance than they did," I said, determined. "Did you catch what that man said? Mistralton. We're headed the right way. At least one city survived."  
\--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---  
Ryan Sans

"Mom!" I held up a few rations, grinning. "Looks like lunch is on me."

My mother, a middle aged woman by the name of Andrea Bell (She kept her maiden name) smiled. "You're just like your father, you know. The man of the household."

My smile faltered a bit at the mention of Dad. "There'll never be another Dad," I said. "But at least now we know we won't starve. At least for now."

"Food!" Jen squeaked loudly. "Mama, can we have some?"

"Yes, you can," Mom said, "But what do we say first?"

"Thank you Ryan," Jen said. "Oh! And thank you, Arceus."

"That's right. Now everyone, eat slowly. We don't have too many of these, so make them count."

I distributed the food packs with the help of my Mom, making sure my siblings didn't scarf it down too fast. Mom took an instant spaghetti and I took some berries. It wasn't the worst meal, all considered. At least it kept everyone quiet for a little bit.

I told everyone that I was on the work schedule tomorrow, and wouldn't be able to have lunch with them. Or dinner, probably. It wasn't going to be fun, but it was for the best. At least my family might get more food in due time.

"It's alright, Ryan," Mom said. "I'll take care of the little ones while you're gone. You just make sure to make a good impression at work, okay honey?"

"Sure thing Mom."

"Good. Now what do you girls want to do today?"

"Swim!" Jen said excitedly. "I want to swim on Wamy's back."

"Wamy?" Mom looked at me for an answer.

"It's what she calls Wailmer," I told her. "Back from when she couldn't pronounce all her sounds."

"Ahh." Mom stood up, brushing her dress down. "I guess we can go swimming. Did your boss say it was okay to go out in the water yet?" she asked me.

"Yeah," I said. "So long as we don't pass city limits, we should be fine."

"Wonderful. Alright girls, safety first." She asked if I wanted to join them, but I politely declined. It may be the start of the day for them, but I was tired. A bit of sleep would do me good, I justified. I gave Mom Wailmer's pokeball, telling her to keep it safe. She nodded and set out alongside the rest of the family.

I hit the sack almost immediately after they left, curling into a ball, feeling the rocking motions of the sea as it pushed and pulled on the cabin. Soon, I was fast asleep.

But not for long. A knock on the door of the cabin jolted me awake. A quick glance at the crak in the doors told me that it was Susan, the girl from the raft.

"Hello!" she called out. "Is anybody home?"

"Yeah," I said, pulling on the door hinges. "I'm here. What do you want?"

"I came to properly thank you for saving our lives," she said brightly. "Here, I made a giftbasket."

She handed me a bag full of berries in it.

"Thanks," I said, "But you really need to save those for yourself. Who knows when you'll be given food again."

"Oh it's no problem," she said. "Thomas got a job working construction at the docks, and I can sew for Team Aqua. Apparently they're in shortage of uniforms. So here. Take it!"

"Well alright then," I said. "Thanks." Inside, an assortment of pecha, oran, and the occasional sitrus berry piled on top each other.

Susan stepped inside. "Wow, is this all your family has to sleep under? Not that we're ones to talk. Our cabin's even smaller. But I was told your entire family lives here."

"Most of it," I said. "We're still missing one."

"I'm so sorry," Susan said. "Did you lose them in the Flood?"

"Nah," I said with a hint of sadness. "It's my Dad. He died in a freak accident a few years back." Ryan flinched irritably and said, "Why am I even telling you this?"

"I don't know," Susan confessed. "Maybe I should leave."

"No! I mean, you can stay if you want to. It was my fault, bringing it up like that. I normally don't bring it up outside family. It's still hard though, losing him."

"It must be," Susan said. "Thomas and I never knew our parents. Our real parents, anyway. We're from a foster home. But I guess they're gone too… They sent us away because they thought we were a bad influence on the others. Funny how life works sometimes, isn't it?"

"That's one word for it." I sat down. "So what made them think that you were a bad influence?"

"We wanted adventure," Susan said. "I've always dreamed of becoming a pokemon master. At least I did, that is. Before the Flood. Now we just focus on feeding ourselves."

"I get what you mean," I said. "I always wanted to be a chef." My cheeks reddened as Susan suppressed a giggle.

"What?" I asked. "It's not a bad dream!"

"No," Susan said, mortified at herself. "It's just, it's so weird, how we could lose so much over one day."

"Yeah," I said gloomily. "Tell me about it."

"It's not all bad though," Susan said. "Look outside. We're not fighting, or squabbling over our differences. Everyone is working together to survive."

"I guess that's a good thing. If only it didn't take the end of the world for us to figure that one out."

Susan let out another peal of laughter. "You're funny."

"Am I?" I never thought of myself as a comedian.

"Sure you are," she said. "Come on, I want you to meet James, properly this time. He says he's sorry for the way he treated you."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes," she said. "Now come!"

I shrugged. It was my day off after all. What's the harm in meeting a cute girl's family? Even if they wanted nothing to do with you a few hours earlier. It wouldn't be the end of the world.  
\--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---  
Georgia Smith

I found the trail. It was a weezing after all, just like Vernon said. As I traveled further down the cavern, the steam grew darker, giving it a purplish hue. I took care to cover my mouth and nose with a scarf so that I would breathe in any of the poison.

"There it is," I whispered to myself, taking out the pokeball with Crow inside. "Go! Crow!" I called out as soon as the weezing was in distance.

"Weezing!" the pokemon called out. It let out a burst of smog, which Crow dodged.

"Careful of the poison smoke!" I called out. "It'll try to envelop you!"

Crow let out a shriek, hitting the weezing with a well-aimed Confusion attack. The weezing shook its head angrily, but still managed to keep my crobat in its sight. It sucked in its breath, letting out a ball of poison sludge hurtling right at Crow.

Crow swooped down. But the ball still caught him on the shoulder. Being not very effective, though, he shook it right off. Crow was angry now. So was I. This thing, whether it knew it or not, was responsible for the deaths of people I cared about. I would not let it be the death of Maxie.

"Crobat," I ordered. "Wing attack!" Crobat flapped his wings twice as they grew silver and dived down to meet Weezing in the air. The attack was a hit. The weezing coughed and spluttered, but still hovered, conscious.

"Alright," I said as the weezing prepared another smog. "Hit him with X Scissor once he's too confused."

Sure enough, the weezing hit itself in its confusion, leaving an opening for X Scissor. It damaged the weezing just enough for it to collapse to the ground, barely conscious. I tossed a pokeball its way. One, two, three rolls. It was mine.

I pocketed the new pokemon in my belt, calling Crow back to his pokeball. It was time to head back to Vernon.

Vernon was exuberant to find out that not only was he correct, but that I had found the weezing responsible. He took a few samples from the weezing's body, melding it with a few drops of pecha berry juice.

"That should do it," he said. "Here, give this to Maxie."

I eyed it dubiously. "And you're sure this won't kill him?"

"It'll either kill or cure him," Vernon admitted.

"Great. Well, seeing as we don't have any other choice…" I dropped the antidote down Maxie's mouth. "Get working on the rest of the batch. Pray it works."

I collapsed to the floor, drained. Had I just killed my leader by feeding him poison? I hugged myself around the ankles. If this didn't work, if this killed him… I didn't know how I could go on with myself. My thoughts turned darker and darker until Vernon shouted from across the cave, "Georgia! It's working! It's working!"

I ran over to Maxie's side. "Leader?"

Maxie groaned. "I told you to call me Maxie. Where is Tabitha and Blaise?"

I guess my face gave it away. Maxie shuddered and closed his eyes. For a second I thought the shock had killed him, but he nodded. "I see. Thank you for reviving me. See to the others now."

"But—I mean, yes sir."

I walked over to my friend Sharon's side. "Hey there girl. You feeling alright?"

"Sharon laughed weakly. "Worse than I look, I'm sure."

I grimaced. "Let's hope not, 'cause well, you ain't lookin' so hot right now."

Sharon smiled. "Better than you."

"Oh please," I said playfully. "A Trubbish could outclass you." We bantered on like this until Sharon fell back asleep. I turned to Vernon, who was, likewise, engaging the others in conversation to see how well they were doing. He gave me a curt nod. It looked like we were going to make it after all. Who knew? Sometimes, I guess miracles really do happen after the fact.  
\--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---  
To Be Continued…

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment if you want to see more of this story.


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